Dreaming of Angels
by HeIsMySalvation
Summary: "You want me to do what?" I ask blandly, not quite processing her order. She grins at me. "I want you to dress up as a girl. Naruto can use a transformation, but you'll need a disguise. It'll be perfect, Sasuke!" I groan. Why did I ever put her in charge?


**Chapter 1**

I narrow my eyes thoughtfully at the small group of men in the center of the clearing. They're big – really big – but probably not very skilled. Their weapons have bulk but are rusty and dull, just like the men themselves. Chakra bubbles out of my system and into my eyes as colors swirl before my vision. Each of the men is just a pale glow, barely worth any notice. The colors rotate again before returning to normal as I disengage my sharigan. It's good practice to fight without it occasionally. Besides, I won't need it for this lot.

Resisting the urge to shift uncomfortably as yet another drop of sweat rolls down the back of my neck, I grit my teeth in frustration. The humidity is getting to me. It blankets the already warm day with another layer of heat, slicking the layer of my weapons so that they're hard to grip. I quietly reach down to wipe my hands yet again against my navy shinobi pants. At least these things are designed to keep me cool. Although my forest green flak jacket has saved me on many occasions, I resent its weight on such a hot day.

Glancing towards the other sides of the clearing, I study the foliage. An edge of orange cloth behind that bush. Strands of bubblegum pink not quite hidden behind that leaf. I shake my head, grimly. It's a good thing these thugs aren't real shinobi or we'd be in trouble.

I scan the group carefully once again, studying every inch of the clearing carefully. I don't see it, the finely carved wooden box, the one that holds a golden artifact worth a hundred times more than I could ever dream of owning, and the sole reason that we're on this mission. Catching sight of a plain brown sack, clutched protectively underneath one man's arm, I notice the boxy outline of the item inside. A sly grin slides onto my face. I think I've found it.

Making sure I've caught two sets of eyes – one viridian green, the other a startling azure blue – I raise my hand beside my head and jerk it down sharply before sprinting out of the cover of the trees. As I run, I reach down to my core of chakra, drawing a thread of it up through my arm to pool in my hand. Two other figures break cover as well, yelling at the top of their lungs.

"Cha!"

"Rasengan!"

"Chidori!" I smirk as the men's eyes grow wide. Perhaps they are just frightened by the glowing orbs of chakra flying towards them or maybe they have heard of us…the renowned Team 7: apprentice of the legendary Godaime Hokage, Sakura Haruno; jinchuriki of the Kyubi, Uzumaki Naruto; and me, the last of a once great clan, bearing one of the most feared kekkei genkai in the shinobi world, Uchiha Sasuke.

Power rushes through me as I stream my chakra into lightning, shaping it into a long, crackling sword. Swinging my weapon towards one man who is just starting to get to his feet, I slice neatly through the bicep of his left arm, keeping a careful eye on the man with the sack beneath his arm. He stands in the middle of the group as the other men fight in a protective circle around him. Brandishing a large broadsword, he holds it awkwardly with one hand, turning about with the weapon outstretched.

My mouth twitches in satisfaction at his stupidity and reach down towards my arm guard which holds seals for shuriken. Ducking beneath the clumsy swing of an unskilled swordsman, I pool a bit of chakra in my hand and the blade quickly pops into my hand at my call. Waiting until the man's back is facing me, I flick my wrist, sending the shuriken between the two opponents in front of me, straight to its mark in the muscle of his upper left back.

With a loud roar of pain the man drops the bag. I watch it as it tumbles to the ground with a loud thud, spraying up a small cloud of dust. Keeping my eye on the object, I automatically jump as one of my opponents sweeps his sword towards my feet. Placing my hand on the man's shoulder, I twist and tuck, using him to support me through my flip over his head. As I uncurl my body on my way to the ground, I send out a slice of my still-crackling chakra behind me. A rather unmanly cry of pain affirms that my target has been hit. Not that I need any affirmation. I know without looking that my chidori blade went right through his shoulder.

Diving towards the fallen bag, I sweep it up in my arms, reassured by the rectangular shape and hard material beneath the cloth. A loud snarl from behind warns me of another man rushing towards me. Without even a glance back, I spring into the air, back flipping up into a tree far above the chaos.

As I land comfortably balanced among the leaves, I sweep the scene, activating my sharingan once again. Most of the men are now incapacitated, lying in pools of their own blood or simply backing away, shaking swords held fearfully in front of them. None of them appear to be dead, their pale chakra still flickering dimly. Sakura and Naruto, their raw power burning as vivid, flashing colors in my vision, are at the center of what little action remains, forcing the surrender of the last few men within just a few minutes. I return my eyes to normal again.

"Haha! You have all been conquered by the mighty Uzumaki Naruto!" my orange-clad teammate yells, pumping a fist into the air. Sakura and I both shake our heads in amusement. His grin slowly fades as he glances around the small group of men. "Oi! Where's Sasuke?"

"Baka," Sakura accuses. "He's up in that tree."

"Where?" Naruto asks, scanning the treetops until he finds me. "Oi, Sasuke!" I raise my hand in a small wave in acknowledgement. "You're not much help up there!"

I sigh and lift up the sack for him to see. "I had to grab this."

His face scrunches in confusion. "What's that?"

Sakura quickly swipes him across the back of the head. "Baka! It's what we were sent on this mission to retrieve!"

"Itai! Sakura-chan!" he moans.

Rolling my eyes at them, I bound out of the tree and land neatly next to them. Glancing around at the pile of groaning men as well as the small group under Naruto's guard, I nod my approval. It looks like no one got killed and our team accumulated no injuries with the exception of the small lump growing on Naruto's head courtesy of Sakura.

"What do you want us to do with them?" Sakura asks, inclining her head towards the thugs.

"Tie them up," I order. "Since they're not shinobi criminals they're probably wanted for civilian crimes. We'll let the local authorities know that they're here." I hold up the sack for her inspection. "This is the only thing our client wants."

Sakura gives me a questioning look. I nod and she takes the bag, crouching down so that she can set it on the ground. As she opens it up, I turn to see how Naruto is handling the thugs. I smirk as I watch him cinch each of their wrists tightly together, all the while telling them to remember the name Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage.

"Sasuke?"

I turn back to Sakura to see her studying a large, opened wooden box. Inside is a velvet cushion around a small, golden statue of a cat. Personally, I think it's hideous, but the gold must be worth a fortune. "What?" I ask.

"This statue is supposed to be made of _solid_ gold, right?"

"Yes."

Biting her lip, Sakura reaches inside and lifts the cat out of its velvet cocoon. Her eyes point towards the sky in concentration as she tosses the statue from hand to hand, weighing it experimentally. Finally dropping her gaze back down to mine, she tosses me the cat, which I easily catch in one hand.

"Here, feel."

Raising an eyebrow at her, I copy her in tossing the thing back and forth between my hands. It feels fine I guess, but…wait a minute…

"It's too light," I state, tossing it back to her.

She nods, placing the cat back in its case as her green eyes narrow in determination. "Gold is a very dense metal. This doesn't weigh enough to be made of solid gold."

I sigh in annoyance. "So either the client was lying, just an idiot, or this is a fake."

She nods.

I curse. Great. Now we have to at least_ try_ to find the real on, if there even is a real one. If we return to our client and tell him it's a fake, he could claim that the real one is still out there, even if this fake actually is the one that was stolen from him. Then we won't get paid and Tsunade-sama will chew us out.

Stalking over to one of the tied up thugs, I grab a handful of his hair and yank his head back. His eyes are wide as he stares up at me in hateful fear. I recognize him as the one who was clutching the box at the center of the pack.

My face slides into what I know is a very intimidating grin. "You're the leader, aren't you?"

Despite the obvious terror in his eyes, the man manages to deepen his glare, clenching his jaw as he remains silent.

Flooding chakra into my eyes, I can them spin as the colors whirl before my vision. The man's eyes widen a bit, everyone recognizes the sharigan. I can feel the fear, pulsating off of him as if it was a bad odor. His fear makes his mind accessible and very open to suggestion.

Quickly creating a scenario and piecing it into images, I stream them into the chakra pulsating towards my eyes. I know the second that the genjutsu hits the man. His terrified mind grabs onto it like an anchor, desperate for anything to yank it to safety. What his mind doesn't know is that this anchor is simply going to drag him into another dousing ocean of fear. I allow half of my consciousness to oversee the genjutsu, but make sure to keep the rest firmly planted in reality.

"So you don't want to tell me anything?" I ask.

The man's glare simply deepens.

With an exasperated sigh, I roll my eyes and release my hold on his hair. In one smooth motion I draw a kunai, reach over towards one of the unconscious men secured next to him, and slash my blade through his throat. Blood splatters sickeningly against my prisoner's cheek, the glare dropping from his face as his expression hangs slack in pure surprise and horror.

I grin at him again, holding the dripping kunai next to his throat. "Is there anything you'd like to tell me now?"

* * *

_Hey guys! So this is just going to be a short story. I'm guessing four or five chapters. I started writing this as a one shot at the request of a few people over Christmas. I'm so sorry I haven't finished it yet, but I have enough material that I'm going to split it up into chapters._

_For those of you who are STILL waiting for an update of "Always - Team 7", I'm so sorry! It should be up by the end of the week. If you haven't read it yet, please check it out!_

_As always, please review and enjoy! And God bless:)_


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